Go Back to Previous Locations in Excel

In Excel, you can create named ranges, and go to those ranges by selecting a name from the Name Box.

In addition to those permanent names, you can also store up to 4 temporary locations, and to back to those locations quickly. This is handy if you’re making updates to a big workbook, and want to switch between a couple of sheets quickly, without lots of scrolling.

Temporarily Store a Location

Here are the steps for storing a location:

Select a cell on the worksheet

Click in the Name Box, which is to the left of the Formula Bar

Press the Enter key, to temporarily store that location.

Go Back to a Stored Location

When you want to return to one of the 4 temporarily stored locations:

To open the Go To dialog box, press the F5 key, or press Ctrl + G

If the location that you want is in the Reference box, press the Enter key, to go to that cell

To go to another location in the list, double-click on that location in the list.

It’s Only Temporary

When you’re using this technique, remember that the locations are only stored temporarily. When you close the file and reopen it, you will have to store a new set of temporary locations. If you need something permanent, you can create named ranges instead.